Introduction
Skateboarding can be considered to be one of the most polarizing activities to take place within the context of today’s society. To some it is a harmless hobby which provides a sense of belonging and access to a tight-knit community of like-minded individuals. And to others it is a nuisance to the general public, that ruins facilities and drives up maintenance costs for the city. However, whichever way you look at it, the impact this infamous hobby has had on landscape design and urban planning simply cannot be denied. With the help of three documentaries Freedom of Space: Skateboard Culture and the Public Space, Socially Infamous and Full Tilt Boogie – A Burnside Documentary, the influence of the skate community is put on display. From the perspective of skaters, the documentaries redefine what public use/space is and show how a more lenient understanding of what a shared space is, has allowed skaters to mold their cityscape into a never ending playground with an infinite amount of opportunities to land their gravity-defying tricks.
Documentaries
Freedom of Space: Skateboard Culture and the Public Space
Freedom of Space takes us from Los Angeles to Portland and then on to Philadelphia before culminating in Brooklyn. This documentary introduces us to the way of the skater and takes us into their minds. In each of the cities we travel to, we are shown how city councils try to remove skaters from the city both through policy and landscape design, and how the skaters adapt to whatever restrictions are put in place. We get to listen in to professional skaters but also city council members and city planners speak about the influence skating has had on both the physical and social environment. This documentary also introduces to our specific microculture (skaters under the Burnside Bridge in Portland) as well as other skate microcultures across America.
Socially Infamous and Full Tilt Boogie
Socially Infamous and Full Tilt Boogie provide a more in-depth understanding of the creation of the Burnside Bridge Skatepark which is considered to be the Mecca of DIY (do it yourself) skateparks. We go back to its birth and understand the political context surrounding its formation. Interviews with the original founders, professional skaters and city council members give us a behind-the-scenes view of the transformation of the under of Burnside Bridge. We see how an ill-maintained location and a festering ground for illicit activities become a welcoming, vibrant and entertaining site which has inspired many other design projects both skate and non-skate related.
The Microculture
In Portland, Oregon under the Burnside Bridge lies what most would consider to be the most famous skatepark in the world. Designed by Rusten Muhlestein, Bret Taylor, Chuck Willis, Elliot Johnson, Osage Buffalo, Kent Dahlgren, Jay Graham, and Mark “Red” Scott, Burnside Skatepark is where local skaters can meet their heroes. It is a place where a ten year vet could strike up a conversation with an eight year old beginner before creating the next big trip. It is a place to be inspired and a place where bonds are formed simply due to a common love for skating. But this location was not always known for its sense of creativity as it is today. Prior to the year 1990 it was a homeless encampment, a hooker spot and gang territory. Simply put it was a place where majority of the city’s population wanted nothing to do with. But out of frustration of the numerous skating restrictions throughout the city and the city council’s refusal to create a safe space for skating, the Burnside Skatepark founding fathers were driven down here. Due to their common sense of perseverance to skate no matter what and their bond due to being social outcasts they were able to clean up under the bridge and take claim of the land. Soon after their appearance all other communities departed from under the bridge, allowing the park to grow and adapt to the needs of the vast number of skaters who came down there.
Mark “Red” Scott skating at Ultra Bowl backyard pool session – Malmö, Sweden Nicola Debernardi
Interactions with People
The most common interaction between people takes place between the skaters there. As previously mentioned there are skaters with a wide variety of skill levels. Tips to land a trick are always shared amongst each other and although Burnside Skatepark might seem intimidating for a novice it is actually a great spot for beginners to advance because of the friendly nature of those who skate there. Other interactions other than skater-to-skater take place as well. The rink serves as a canvas for local artists who use the cement walls and ramps for tagging. In general it is a cool place to hangout and get free entertainment. Sometimes people who have no relationship to skating stop by watch the skaters perform their tricks.
Interactions with Space
The skatepark being located under the bridge allows for very interesting interactions between skaters and the bridge’s structural elements. When the park first started, skaters adapted to the space, doing their tricks on the bridges support systems and walls which ran alongside the bridge. But as the number of skaters grew the park expanded and the bridge was adapted to contain the added facilities within the park. The bridges facilities served as connectors between the added ramps, walls and rails allowing for previously unseen transitions between skate tricks.
Personal Observations
As someone who just started skating it is really interesting to understand the history behind not just informal DIY skateparks, but also professionally developed skateparks as well. As a designer it is quite fascinating to see how these group of skaters adapted their hobby to the landscape around them and as they took over the site, adapted the landscape to their hobby. It is fascinating to see common skate facilities such as ramps, walls and rails interact harmoniously non-skate related facilities such as the bridges support system. Although the complicated nature of the elements of the skatepark present a high a level of risk, it is interesting that I have never heard of there being any serious injuries that took place at Burnside, at least more serious in comparison to the general skate injuries. The vernacular nature of the park is also something of a curiousity to me as a designer. The park is completely built for skaters by skaters. There are no contracts or masterplans nor is there any assistance from the city or professionals. The park runs on donations and additions are added to the park based completely on necessity and the discretion of the skaters. It is a masterpiece created by people with no formal education background which is truly amazing to see.
My a-ha! Moment
My moment of insight is found in the Freedom of Space: Skateboard Culture and the Public Space documentary. In one of the scenes, a skater rides up the bank of a wall directly unto the bridge. This scene defines clearly how the mind of a skateboarder works. There is no such thing as unskateable terrain nor a limit to how far the complexity of a trick can reach. Risk only adds to the flavor of the attempted trick. As a designer, this clip shows that the purpose of a landscape at times is not determined by us. The purpose of a space adapts to whichever user(s) is present at a certain time. In the case of the bridge which naturally serves as a road for cars. The skater has adapted the landscape to serve as the site for his trick. I think the lesson to be gotten from this clip is that when it comes to public space, designers should spend less time trying to figure out how to keep out users they might not have intended their design for, off the site. Rather we should embrace adaptability with open arms. welcoming a diverse range of communities, so long as the presence of one community does not infringe on the well-being of another. This scene also gives glimpse into the why city planners have doubts about giving skaters freedom to skate on public property. It cannot be denied that skating into moving traffic on a bridge could have a myriad of consequences and if the the skaters trick had gone south, city officials would have a lot of questions to answer as to how the skater got unto the bridge in the first place.
How Skateboarders Enact Their Rights in Public Spaces
Access
Skaters are a community which tend to be specifically prohibited from having access to public spaces. Although there is a growing positive perception about skaters, on a general level skaters are still not welcomed within public sites such as parks and plazas. However, this lack of accommodation for skaters is a major catalyst for the skater’s rebellious spirit driving him to force his/herself into spaces where they may not be wanted. The skater’s stubborn spirit should not be viewed as malicious as they believe that they do not obstruct others from enjoying a space. Due to the fact that how one feels about this claim is based on personal perception of how a public space should be shared, the validity of the skater’s claim is still up for debate in the eyes of the general public.
The ambiguity regarding the definition of public space has led to a constant cat and mouse chase between skaters and law enforcement. Urban designers set restrictions both through symbolic gestures (no skating signs, presence of cops) and physical infrastructure (skate stoppers placed on ledges and benches). The skaters then return to adapt to these restrictions and then the process repeats itself. However due to reasons such as skaters’ perseverance, extreme cases of law enforcement attempting to restrict skaters and the growing popularity of skate culture, designers have shifted to either contain skaters or outrightly accommodate them within specific public sites.
Freedom of Action
Discouraging the presence of a certain group does not always have to be accomplished through the explicit denial of access. The granting of access to one community could heavily restrict another group’s freedom to act within a space, thus implicitly denying access to certain groups and sometimes this is the case with skating. Freedom of action is directly linked to why skaters are frequently denied access to public sites. For example a place which should be serene could prove to be a rowdy space with the presence of skaters. If skaters are allowed within such areas, those who occupy spaces like this with the intention of finding peace and quiet would be denied their right to act freely. Although it can be argued that most skaters are respectful of quiet zones, the previously existing negative views of skaters (partly because of the actions of some skaters) presents skaters as a threat to the quietness of a site.
So how do you provide skaters the freedom to act in a way which is accommodating of other public space users? Well as a designer you would have to understand the spatial conditions of a site which are attractive to skaters and place these in locations which do not interfere with the other uses which go on in a space. In order words spatial control must be regulated fairly across user groups.
Claim
Skateboarders if unbothered rarely get territorial over public space and are happy to co-exist with others within the spaces which they skate. They tend to be public and do their tricks; minding their own business. However if interfered with their territorial sides become a lot more prominent.
When a skater finds a good spot word of mouth spreads and pretty soon it becomes a hotspot for skaters. Sometimes these spots are in locations where skaters may not generally be welcomed but if the skaters claim that spot it takes a lot of effort to remove them and because of this there tends to be conflict between skaters and authority or anyone else trying to remove them from using that spot. And due to their stubbornness and large population they usually win the battle over dominance over a spot.
Skaters are open to sharing the claim to a spot if listened to and negotiated with fairly. At the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) the plaza is a designated skate spot on Sunday and Tuesday evenings. It was not always like this as skateboarding used to be illegal. But due to the persistence of the skaters and understanding that the skaters caused no harm, the skaters are now programmed into the plaza space and intermingle with the general public.
Change
Change has been an integral part of skate culture since its origins. Skateboarding began when surfers began skating empty pool parks and this spirit of adaptation is present even today. The evolution of skate tricks relies on transforming the landscape through adding to, subtracting from and shifting the different features of a landscape. This never ending growth is why law enforcement has a hard time being able to contain skaters to a specific landscape. Even with the growing presence of skate parks and designated skating zones, the constant yearning for a skater to change his environment and adapt his skills to his new terrain causes skaters to continuously look for new skate parks, even in places that may seem unwelcoming.
Whether or not this change in landscape that skaters bring is accepted by a general community depends on the general outlook the community has on change. Due to various opinions on risk, safety and liability the rate at which changing landscapes are accepted varies heavily. In a community such as the USA, there is a great fear of risk within public spaces due to the owners of the space being sued if something goes wrong within their boundaries. Owners take every precaution to make their spaces as incident free as possible and while this may be successful in creating a relatively safe environment, it also leads to extremely static landscapes and presents the possibility of the under-utilisation of a space due to its functionality being overly specific. Demographics shift and if public spaces do not move with the shift there is a high chance of spaces becoming obsolete. I believe skaters present a picture as to how spaces can grow and adapt. Skaters display how a space and the features within could be transformed to host activities which a designer could never have planned for.
Ownership and Disposition
The varying definitions of ownership in regards to landscape is the leading cause of conflicts in public spaces. In the case of skaters, they believe that they are entitled to skate in any public space because to a skater public means open to anyone to use they deem fit. In a sense everyone has 100% ownership of the space. However public to others means open to anyone within certain boundaries (usually decided by the authoritative body in the community). In other words everyone has partial ownership of the space. I think both mindsets come with different kinds of problems. As a skater you might not explicitly kick people out of a shared space but due to the overbearing presence skaters sometimes have, other groups within the space may leave out of a sense of discomfort. If all other groups leave then skaters by default become the sole owners of the spot (unofficially) and thus it is no longer a public space. On the other hand due to the negative perception skaters have some people view all skaters as a nuisance even when they are not causing any problems. In order to chase them away the collective ownership excuse is used. In a situation where skaters are not truly bothering the other users of a spot this is unfair as skaters do have a right to public spaces as well.
It is interesting as well that in certain situations skate crews obtaining sole ownership of a public space due to their overbearing nature is welcomed and sometimes encouraged. Due to skaters not being welcomed in a lot of locations, they sometimes move into public spaces that although are open to everyone, the happenings within that space keep most people away. These spaces tend to breeding zones for activities which majority of the public wants nothing to do with such as gang violence, prostitution and drug use. When skaters move into territories like this their large population chases away all other users in that space and increases the productivity of the site and its surroundings. An example of a situation like this is Burnside Skatepark. Located under the Burnside Bridge prior to skaters arrival, this space served as a hooker spot, a homeless encampment and gang territory. When the skaters came in, all other communities left the spot. This drastically reduced the rates of crime and violence not only under the bridge but in the surrounding areas as well. Also when the skaters came in they cleaned up the spot and continue to maintain it to this day. Because of the positive impact that skaters had under the bridge they were left unbothered even though technically they were not supposed to be there. However, they were eventually granted rights to use the under the Burnside bridge for their activities.
IQ Skateshop
IQ which opened August 2021, is a local skateshop within State College. It serves as the main hub for the emerging skate community as well as a tourist shop for the local population of Penn State students and residents. Here skaters hangout, talk about skating and actively skate street elements such as planters and benches outside of the shop, while the remaining population passes through to buy clothes and accessories or just browse and watch the skaters do their tricks. IQ is a common skating area simply due to the high number of skaters that are present within its perimeters. Due to the skater’s tendency to turn anything into a skate prop, the owners did not have to provide a vast amount of skate elements in order to attract active skaters. However corten steel was used to line the planter boxes along the sidewalk in order to make the planters more skateable. By simply promoting skate culture, the shop enabled skaters who may not have previously known each other and of various skill levels and ages, to bond with each other.
As someone who is an active member of this community, it is interesting to realize aspects of my community of skaters which I may not have consciously been aware of. This group is interesting to study as well because the community including the skateshop are an anomaly within the larger State College population leading to interesting interactions taking place between them and other subcultures present. It is also interesting to see how skaters are able to lay claim to common street elements such as benches and planters. These interactions can be understood on a more in-depth level through the use of a relationship matrices chart.
My moments of insight which highlight some of these interactions are both personal experiences. The first was a moment where me and a couple of friends were skating the bench right outside the skateshop and a pedestrian stood out in the cold for about 30 minutes watching us skate with apt attention. The close proximity and interactions between skaters and other communities and elements of the surrounding physical environment does create a considerable amount of risk which my second moment of insight highlights. This was a situation where I almost got hit by two cars while skating down to the skateshop.
I find the first moment to be insightful because in that moment my friends and I’s roles were transformed from skaters to entertainers. The second presents the risk factor of street skating but to me also shows the mind of a skater because although that was a very risky situation I would 100% do it again.
Tip of the Iceberg
The bench that sits outside the IQ skateshop functions as a place of respite for the general public but also as a skate prop for those brave enough to skate on it. Because of its use as a skate prop, the bench is an integral aspect of the skateshop as it attracts skaters to the area. There are two groups of skaters who are commonly present within the area namely those who are skating and those who are spectating. When the skaters are done using the bench it returns back to its original function of being a place of rest. As with other public spaces, people gather around seats, and so the bench attracts the skaters to the area, and then keeps them there after the skate session ends.
Skating on the bench requires effort and skill for a variety of reasons. The platform where the bench sits slopes slightly, which affects the stability of the bench and also the metal bends with pressure. Because of these reasons, even a basic trick such as ollieing on and off the bench could prove to be a difficult task. However as we have acknowledged, risk factor adds to the satisfaction a skater feels when he lands a trick so being able to carry out a trick on the bench is uplifting to those who skate it.
The most prominent feeling being in a skateshop or being immersed in skate culture evokes is the urge to go out and skate. Skaters naturally view any scenario from the perspective of what trick they would do if they had their board with them at that very moment, and this feeling is only more prominent when surrounded by other skaters or skate themes. So in a sense skating the bench is a spillover consequence from hanging around an intense amount of skate paraphernalia. Also, as skaters usually skate in groups the bench provides a way for this microculture to interact with each other. So while to a non-skater this bench is just a bench, to a skater it is an opportunity to have fun, improve on your skating skills and bond with peers within your tight-knit community.
The Skate Bench
Understanding the significance of the bench right outside of the skateshop guided me in selecting a design intervention for my site. My proposition is a dual-functioning bench which combines the functions of people socializing and relaxing with the act of skating. The artifact combines a street bench, a handrail and a skate-box into a singular object.
